James Wellford

James Wellford is a senior photo editor at National Geographic who has produced iconic images across the globe for Newsweek, CNN and Foreign Policy magazine.

National Geographic is the inspiration for many careers and remains a dream assignment for working professionals.

While projects at the magazine can range in scope, some can be famously sprawling and in-depth, a rare approach that allows for closer collaboration. In this interview, Wellford lays out how the editor-photographer relationship can work, and the importance of production.

HM: Can you describe how you see your relationship with photographers?

JW: Relationships are all built on trust and belief in the emotional and aesthetic content of an idea as well as a shared purpose about the importance of revealing the story. Together you build the project; the visual journalist sketching the outlines, content, and specific revelatory moments, the editor distilling the content and always supporting the making of the work.

The range of subjects is compelling and vast but all have in common the purpose of sharing an experience and hopefully the beginning of a dialogue about understanding worlds many never have a chance to be part of. The successful relationship(s) are symbiotic, supportive, believed, and honestly humble since visualizing realities is so often controversial. So much more is at play than a photograph.

Process and consideration are infinitely vital so that beyond what the visual journalist sees, they and the editor always attempt to imbue the work with the essential aspects of trying to understand what those photographed see and feel.

Without this emotional dimension, the story is never complete. Curiosity, responsibility, creativity, courage, and humility, the indispensable quality of humility, are foundational to the best visual journalism.

HM: Can you talk about a specific project that went well, and what led to its success?

JW: Gauging success has a range of indicators. Publishing assigned images is one measure of success. Activating response and awareness of a topic is central to a visual editors’ wor,k so any image that generates reaction and hopefully response, controversial or not, reflects the importance of visual journalism. There are countless examples and certainly Brent Stirton’s killing of the Virunga gorillas is a strong example.

HM: What do you think is the responsibility of photo editors within the newsroom / the media landscape?

JW: Most importantly, to believe in the power and responsibility of visual language and journalism to reach people and to engage society(ies) about their concerns and importantly to stoke conversation about relevant issues now and to forge a statement on our place in history now.

HM: Are there helpful habits that you have when starting a project, or an edit?

JW: Reading is always primary for me, looking for historical context and cultural expression from the specific region and story being developed. I am also a believer in learning about the topography of the regions I work on and to this end flora, fauna, mountains, rivers, desserts, cities, music, food, thinkers, personalities, and regional writing all play a role in creating a dimensional story. When there is a chance to explore the wonder of any place, a story can become a lifelong experience.

HM: Can you talk a bit about what you look for when you're selecting the photos?

Pictures are very delicate to me. That's the danger of them, in a way, because they end up stuck forever in time and action. For most journalists, they are like a piece of punctuation about a story. I like them to be a little bit more ephemeral and act more like a verb.

I like motion pictures, which means that a lot of the very best pictures I've ever looked at, for me, have never been published. When you are working with someone and they suddenly break out and start to reflect on the story without the expectations, that's when you start to see great photography.

I think really good pictures are like water in your hand, it can be hard to hold on to their essence. Think about how limited descriptions of photography can be. I always want to see people's B roll. That's where the gold is.

HM: Are there any misconceptions about editors that you’d like to clarify?

JW: As gatekeepers who always say no and do not respond to queries and story proposals, though these indictments can be accurate. I still believe that most responsible editors make the effort to support projects and in good faith. Many are overwhelmed by an enormous number of proposals and as a result many very strong projects remain dormant and frustratingly so. Unfortunately, time is finite and the many various people involved in deliberating a story proposal and moving forward with it often means that very good projects falter.

HM: How did you become a photo editor? What drew you to it?

JW: Geo-politics, current events, history and how we engage the world visually has always compelled me. Visual statements reflect the times we inhabit and consider how we inhabit them. I started editing at various agencies in NYC and passed through a period of working in historic archives before devoting myself fully to producing visual stories at Newsweek and NatGeo. The title Photo Editor has always struck me as limited since in fact so much more goes into making a story than just looking at photographs. Visual Producer is more accurate.

HM: Any final thoughts not discussed?

As editorial outlets diminish substantially in supporting visual journalists and reality is reduced to a manic profusion of information that is largely transmitted through the phone in your hand, and where resources increasingly move in the direction of altered information and a cloistered hyper sense of reality, let me thank all of the committed visual journalists who so care about revealing, pursuing, and showing stories about our world in conscientious, vivid, and deeply human ways.